Adrenaline
by Arlownay
Summary: And it's in that moment that Jimmy thinks he was wrong to tell Ms. Phillips that art wasn't his thing. [Jimmy/Zoe]


The sight of Mr. Burton covered in shit has to be one of the most satisfying things that has happened since he arrived at Bull_worthless_ Academy. The feeling of adrenaline never really stopped, even after he'd gotten off the driving mower. He and Zoe had managed to escape the police, though after the past few months, Jimmy had become an expert at evading Bullworth's finest, which was something that he prided himself on immensely.

He could still hear his heart pounding in his ears a few minutes later, when the two of them make it back to Zoe's house in Blue Skies Industrial Park, a house with a porch that looked like it was nice once. Jimmy hadn't noticed it earlier, having been caught up in the revenge plot that Zoe had laid out before him, but now that he notices it, he decides that he likes it. It has character. It isn't fake.

"You know, if the cops had spotted us in the park I'd be kicking your ass for following me back here," Zoe says suddenly, in a tone that sounds both accusatory and amused at the same time.

She pauses to get a cigarette from her pocket, and for a moment, all that Jimmy notices is the delicate way that she holds it between her lips, as though it was a habit that she only recently discovered, the gentle pink pucker of her lips and the elegant way that her cropped red hair frames her face. At that moment, he decides that he was wrong to tell Ms. Phillips that art wasn't his thing, because there is a remarkable similarity between the paintings that they studied in class and the way that Zoe is leaning against her porch.

"I'm sure that if the cops had seen they would have been thrilled that Mr. Burton got what was coming to him."

Zoe lets out a sound of amusement and Jimmy smiles despite himself and for a moment there's something that's in the air that makes him think they're about to kiss, but nothing happens and Zoe just flicks some ash onto the ground.

"That old creep should be fired," she says after a few moments of silence between them. "But Crabblesnitch is such a moron that he believes the last thing that someone says to him." The way that she talks about Burton and Crabblesnitch almost sounds sad, in a way. It made Jimmy wonder about what parts of the story he was missing, but at the same time, he decides that he isn't going to ask. If she wanted to tell him, she would tell him.

"They'll both get what's coming to them, if I have anything to say about it," the determined way that he asserts his authority gets him another amused smile from Zoe, and for a moment his gaze lingers on her a bit longer than it should - over the small tattoo of cherries that rests right above the waistline of her skirt and her long legs, which seem almost like Mandy's in a way, but Zoe is less about showing off and more about _existing_ in a way that makes Jimmy think that she's one of the first people he's met in Bullworth that seems like a real person.

"What are you looking at?"

She seems less like she's about to rip his face off for looking in her direction. Jimmy isn't sure why, but if he had to pick a reason, he'd like to think it was because he'd helped her deal with Mr. Burton a few moments earlier.

The question hangs awkwardly in the air as he tries to find an answer that would make sense.

"I think-"

"What?"

"-nothing," he says suddenly, aware of the fact that he'd been seconds away from uttering the words 'in love'. "Just that Burton and Crabblesnitch will get what's coming to them. Bullworth's already changing." He'd reigned in the cliques, stopped a lot of the fighting and now the only problem that he had to deal with was Gary, and even Gary seemed like a distant memory. After all, he hadn't seen him. Only Petey's constant reminders about the fact that it _wasn't_ over yet made him remember.

"Sure it is," Zoe replies, and almost instantly Jimmy feels like he's said something wrong, that maybe telling her 'I love you' would have been the smarter option. "_Bullshit_ Academy will never change. It will always be full of creeps and maniacs."

"So, does that make me a creep or a maniac?"

"I don't know," Zoe said, letting out a sigh that sounded as though it was both amused and serious. "I haven't decided yet."

And Jimmy knows that he must be going crazy or be in love, because the word 'yet' seems almost as thrilling as seeing Mr Burton get covered in shit.


End file.
